Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Chapter 164

   

 Summary:

Yuji successfully tracks down Hiromi Higuruma, but fails to convince him to add a rule to the Culling Game. Instead, Yuji finds himself on trial against a lawyer, and the verdict could be fatal!

Plot:

Higuruma defiantly faces his opponent, and Yuji notices a shikigami appear at his side. Yuji knows that Higuruma has taken out at least twenty players and decides to stay on the defensive to anticipate the attack. Unexpectedly, Higuruma immediately activates the domain extension: Deadly Sentencing. Higurum's domain reflects a courtroom with a guillotine in the background, and Yuji is alert to the impending danger. Yuji rushes to Higuruma and tries to attack before the cursed technique imbued into the domain activates. Yuji throws a head kick, but his leg stops just before it reaches his opponent. Higuruma explains that his domain forbids the use of violence on either side, and Yuji is transported back to his end of the courtroom.

Shikigami, the judge, begins by stating that Yuji is suspected of entering the Maji Vegas Pachinko Parlor on July 16, 2017 in Sendai City, despite being a minor. At first, Yuji isn't sure what's going on until he remembers the salon the judge is talking about. Before letting Yuji know that he was there, he steps back and acts like he's still thinking. Higuruma explains that Judgeman knows everything about everyone in the domain. Higuruma himself is not dear to all this information, and the verdict is decided solely by the arguments presented in the courtroom. Additionally, Higuruma has evidence that has been presented to the judge for consideration. It's not necessarily irreversible, but Yuji won't be informed of what's inside either. Yuji's goal is to plead his case and dispel all doubts to get a not guilty verdict from the judge.

This cursed technique makes Yuji realize that he is being prosecuted by a real lawyer. The absence of a deadly attack in Higuruma's domain made Yuji remember Master Tengen's advice. Tengen explained that domain extension was a more common technique for wizards of the past, as they did not involve guaranteed hits. Casting one's domain was used to simply force the targets within to follow the rules of their cursed technique. Creating a domain with a can't miss attack takes a lot of skill and the number of users has decreased significantly over time. Yuji believes that Higuruma's domain is this type, meaning it is not necessarily deadly. He cannot physically harm Yuji and relies on the condition that Higiruma explains the rules beforehand.

Higuruma continues to explain the aforementioned rules, saying that both participants have one chance each to make a statement. Yuji will go first and Higuruma will refute it based on the evidence he received. Once both sides have presented their case, the judge will issue a verdict. Yuji asks what will happen if he is found guilty, but Higuruma isn't sure how to answer that question. Instead, he tells Yuji that he has one of three options in response: silence, confession, denial. Denial can include making false statements, which surprises Yuji, who asks if it's okay for him to lie in court. Higuruma points out that there would be no need for trials if everyone were honest, and asks Yuji to hurry up and make his statement as Judgeman is impatient.

Yuji takes a moment to think about how to properly defend himself in the process. He actually went to the pachinko parlor that day and even won on the machines. This means that lying is his way of getting out of being clean, but he's not sure what the evidence is. He considers the three main options that Higuruma gave him one by one. In the first hypothetical case, if the evidence isn't necessarily conclusive and doesn't show that Yuji went to the salon, he can just keep quiet. In the second, if the evidence only proves that Yuji went to the salon, he could deny the accusation and say that he used the restroom. However, he will eventually admit that he went in unless the evidence proves that he did. Third, if the evidence proves that he went in and that he was playing, then Yuji believes that he is completely unlucky. He's considering a lighter sentence, but he's not sure if the courts even allow that scenario.

Yuji opts for the latter, claiming that he only went in to use the bathroom. Higuruma responds with proof, which is a photo of Yuji inside using the money exchange. As Yuji facepalms, Higuruma adds that pairing the picture with the defendant's own admission to entering the salon casts doubt on his story about using the restroom. Higuruma says that it is certain that Yuji entered the parlor with the intention of playing the slot machines. Yuji asks what law he's breaking, and Higuruma replies that the premises specifically prohibit minors from entering. There are no laws for amusement facilities punishing minors, but it is still considered illegal entry.

Yuji claims that this is an unfair trial because there is nothing he can say to win a not guilty verdict. However, Higuruma reveals that Japan only bans gambling by minors, meaning that exchange offices are separate entities. The evidence only shows Yuji at the exchange, so he just dismissed the accusation by saying that he had never seen the Maji Vegas Pachinko Parlor before. The judge reaches a verdict and finds Yuji guilty and sentences him to "confiscation".

The domain is dispersed and Judgeman disappears, but Yuji doesn't feel any different. Higuruma immediately attacks by throwing his hammer, hitting Yuji's arm and dealing more damage than he should. Higuruma moves away and summons the hammer back into his hand. She charges him with cursed energy to increase his size and breaks through Yuji's defenses. Yuji is sent to break through several seats in the theater and notes that Higuruma's cursed technique can also manipulate the hammer. Yuji gets up and realizes that even worse, he has lost the ability to manipulate the cursed energy. Higuruma admits that Yuji is having a hard time resisting his attack for now, and the Jujutsu High School student agrees that this is one thing he wants for him.